Imagine telling your friends about your latest science project: using a battery to make a light turn on. You might get some blank stares...sounds a little boring and basic, right? Now tell them you will do it with a potato! Yes, you can actually use fruits and vegetables as part of an electric power source! Batteries power many things around you, including cell phones, wireless video game controllers, and smoke detectors. In this science project, you will learn about the basics of battery…
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Energy_p010

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Time Required

Average (6-10 days)

Prerequisites

None

Material Availability

A kit is available for this project from the . Estimated time required includes time for shipping the kit.

Have you ever wondered how your cell phone or laptop keeps running once you unplug it? Sure, it is the battery that makes your portable electronics work, but how exactly does a battery do that, and from where does the electricity come? Generally, in a battery chemical energy is converted into electrical energy. In fact, many different types of batteries exist that are all based on a different set of chemical reactions. In this science project, you will explore a special battery variant called…
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Chem_p107

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Time Required

Average (6-10 days)

Prerequisites

Some knowledge of basic chemistry and familiarity with the concept of electrochemistry would be helpful.

Material Availability

This science project requires specialty electronics items. A structure is available. Estimated time required includes time for shipping the kit.

Cost

Average ($40 - $80)

Safety

Hydrogen peroxide can irritate the skin and eyes. When working with this chemical, make sure to wear eye and skin protection in case of any splashes or spills. In case of chemical contact, rinse skin or eyes immediately with plenty of water.

Generating power from mud sounds like science fiction, but it is actually real science, and a promising source of alternative energy. Topsoil is packed with bacteria that generate electricity when placed in a microbial fuel cell. Because such bacteria-laden soil is found almost everywhere on Earth, microbial fuel cells can make clean, renewable electricity nearly anyplace around the globe. They are an up-and-coming technology that scientists and engineers are working to make even more…
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Elec_p071

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Time Required

Very Long (1+ months)

Prerequisites

We recommended that you have a basic knowledge in physics of electricity and familiarity with the concepts of conductivity, electric current, resistance and electrical power. Having used a multimeter before is helpful, but not required.

Material Availability

The microbial fuel cell kit needs to be special-ordered from the

Cost

Average ($50 - $100)

Safety

Be sure to wear the gloves supplied with the kit when handling the microbial fuel cell's electrodes (its cathode and anode). The electrodes are made of a conductive material called graphite fiber and should not be placed near electronics, power plugs, or have their fibers dispersed in the air. The fibers will cause electrical shortages when in contact with electronics.

Do you read the list of ingredients in foods and drinks before you buy them at the grocery store? If you do, you may have noticed that many of the items, especially colored drinks, contain dyes with names such as FD&C Blue 1, Red 40, or Yellow 5. But how much dye is needed to create all these colors? In this chemistry science project, you will build a simple spectrophotometer that is able to measure the concentration of colored chemicals in solutions. You will test your device by measuring…
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Chem_p075

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Time Required

Long (2-4 weeks)

Prerequisites

Some knowledge of basic chemistry, as well as familiarity with electronics, would be helpful, but is not required.

Material Availability

For your convenience a kit is available for this project from the . Time required includes shipping for the kit. For data analysis, a spreadsheet program, such as Google SheetsTM or Microsoft® Excel® is helpful.

Your drinking water probably started out brown and muddy. Are you surprised? Maybe you were picturing it flowing from a clean mountain spring instead? All over the world, including in 68% of American homes, people get their drinking water from rivers, lakes, and other surface waters. This water is filled with dirt, debris, and other contaminants as it travels hundreds of miles. So, how does your drinking water go from brown and muddy to crystal clear? Often, flocculants—substances that…
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EnvEng_p039

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Time Required

Average (6-10 days)

Prerequisites

Some basic knowledge in chemistry would be helpful, but is not necessary.

Material Availability

This project requires special electronic parts. See the Materials and Equipment list for details. For data analysis, a spreadsheet program, such as Google SheetsTM or Microsoft® Excel®, is helpful.

Do you hate shots? Do you complain about paper cuts? Imagine if you had to give yourself shots a couple of times a day, as well as prick your finger, on purpose, even more frequently. Of course, if you have diabetes you do not have to imagine this; it is your reality. People who have diabetes usually need to keep close track of how much sugar is in their blood (called their blood glucose levels) by testing a drop of blood from a finger prick. If there is too much sugar in their blood, some…
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HumBio_p040

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Time Required

Average (6-10 days)

Prerequisites

Some familiarity with electronic circuits and using breadboards would be helpful, though it is not required for this project. Completion of a basic chemistry class is also recommended before trying this project.

Material Availability

A pump and other electronics parts must be specially ordered to do this project. See the Materials list for details. Estimated project time includes shipping of specialty components.

Cost

Average ($40 - $80)

Safety

Some parts of the circuit can get warm during normal operation. Do not leave the circuit operating when unattended. Be very careful with your wiring to prevent short circuits from happening; short circuits can get very hot and cause plastic parts of the circuit to melt.

Have you ever wondered how your clothes get their color? Dyeing textiles is a very complicated process and involves a lot of chemistry. Not only are the properties of the dye and fabric important, but the dyeing conditions also have to be exactly right to get optimal color adsorption. Curious about how it works? In this science project, you will color wool with Kool-Aid® and explore the chemistry of dyeing.
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Chem_p106

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Time Required

Average (6-10 days)

Prerequisites

Knowledge of basic chemistry is helpful as well as a good understanding of mathematical operations such as algebra and simple linear regression.

Material Availability

This project requires special electronic parts. A kit is available at the . Estimated time required includes time for shipping the kit. For data analysis, a spreadsheet program, such as Google SheetsTM or Microsoft® Excel®, is helpful.

Cost

High ($100 - $150)

Safety

This project requires working with boiling water. Make sure to take precautions to prevent burns from the hot liquid.

Have you ever gone to pour yourself a cup of milk and all you get is milk clumps? What happened to the milk is called coagulation, which is the mechanism that occurs when proteins in the milk clump together. While you do not necessarily want this in your milk, without coagulation (or curdling), there would not be any cheese or yogurt, which is why it is a very important process in the food industry. But what makes milk curdle? In this science project you will use pineapple juice to curdle milk…
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BioChem_p032

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Time Required

Long (2-4 weeks)

Prerequisites

A familiarity with basic chemistry and experience with simple electronics would be helpful, but is not absolutely required.

Material Availability

For your convenience a kit is available for this project from the . Time required includes shipping for the kit. For data analysis, a spreadsheet program, such as Google SheetsTM or Microsoft® Excel® is helpful.

LEDs (light-emitting diodes) are electronic components that convert a portion of the electrical energy flowing through them into light. How does the intensity of the light produced vary with the current flowing through the LED? To find out, you'll build some simple circuits to vary the current flowing an LED. You'll also build a simple light-to-voltage converter circuit to measure LED output.
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What can you do with a bucket of soil? You could use it to grow some beautiful plants and vegetables—or you could use it to produce electricity! Surprised about that? You actually can power electric devices with just mud! Are you curious about how this works? You need some little helpers in the soil—bacteria—that are able to turn their food sources within the soil into electricity in a device called a microbial fuel cell. But is this possible with any soil and does the soil…
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Energy_p042

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- Less Details

Time Required

Very Long (1+ months)

Prerequisites

Previous experience using a multimeter and being familiar with the physics of electricity is helpful, but not required.

Material Availability

The microbial fuel cell kit needs to be special-ordered from the .

Cost

Average ($50 - $100)

Safety

Be sure to wear the gloves supplied with the kit when handling the microbial fuel cell's electrodes (its cathode and anode). The electrodes are made of a conductive material called graphite fiber and should not be placed near electronics or power plugs, or have their fibers dispersed in the air.

You can find this page online at: http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/search.shtml?v=solt&pi=Chem_p053.shtml&p=1

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